SN 5.16 · Pingiya's Question (Pingiya-manava-puccha)
[Pingiya:]
I'm old & weak, my complexion dull. I've blurry eyes and trouble hearing, but may I not perish deluded, confused! Teach me the Dhamma so that I may know the abandoning here of birth & aging.[The Buddha:]
Seeing people suffering on account of their bodies — heedless people are oppressed on account of their bodies — then heedful, Pingiya, let go of the body for the sake of no further becoming.[Pingiya:]
In the four cardinal directions, the four intermediate, above & below — the ten directions — there is nothing in the world unseen, unheard, unsensed, uncognized by you. Teach me the Dhamma so that I may know the abandoning here of birth & aging.[The Buddha:]
Seeing people, victims of craving — aflame, overwhelmed with aging — then heedful, Pingiya, let go of craving for the sake of no further becoming.Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. From Access to Insight (BCBS Edition). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) — for free distribution only. Never sold.
